Growing Virtual CommunitiesIt is
impossible to ignore IRRODL, and the current edition is no exception,
containing work on blended learning and interaction. And
although the content are well chosen, this issue is a bit
choppier than usual. Take, for example, this article. a
discussion of the development of online communities, that
begins with section Xxxiv. The content, obviously part of a
larger work, is generally reliable, but doesn't really
advance beyond what we already know. "Social factors are
central to the planning, nurturing, and life cycle of
learning communities. Participation, communication, and
interaction are at their heart." By Debbie Garber,
International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, August 3, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

Interaction and Immediacy in Online
LearningThe authors' key point is that
"Interaction alone... is insufficient to create a positive
social dynamic in the online classroom." An important
mediating element, argue the authors, is "immediacy," which
is "the extent to which selected communicative behaviors
enhance physical or psychological closeness in
interpersonal communication" and "immediacy is both a
consequence of interaction and a contributor to it." The
implication is that immediacy enhances interaction, but one
would be hard pressed to draw this conclusion explicity in
this paper. Indeed, neither this paper nor the next is very
clearly written. At the very least, we could be provided
with Figure 1, the diagram referred to, but not included,
in this essay. By Robert H. Woods, Jr. and Jason A. Baker,
International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, August 3, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

BSA Explains its EthosReferring
to Business Software Alliance studies that routinely
inflate the cost of file sharing, the BSA VP Bob Kruger
argues, "I haven't seen where anyone's pointed out anything
about the methodology they disagree with." This despite
numerous published complaints about exactly that point!
There's a lot of slippery logic in this interview, an
exposition of the software company point of view. By David
Becker, ZD Net UK, August 3, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

Copyright: Can it Hold Knowledge
Hostage?More of the same. "Aggressive copyright
laws, often tied to companies' desire to protect
intellectual property, are making the future of
intellectual property precarious," said conference
organizer Joe Turow, a professor at the Annenberg School
for Communication. "Horror stories abound about researchers
unable to create innovative work under the idea of fair
use." No evidence, however, that our elected officials are
listening. By Corey Murray, eSchool News, August 1, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]